the dreamers

The Centennial/Once upon a time in Denver, there were two brothers, Patrick and Nathan Meese, who made fun, melodic power pop. Their band, Meese, signed a deal with a major record label, toured with popular bands, played big venues, and finally put out its major-label debut. It was a rock ’n’ roll dream—until it wasn’t. Meese’s 2009 album Broadcast turned out to be the band’s last act; the brothers felt like they rushed to put out the album, and once it had been released, they knew the band had run its course. The Centennial, the brothers’ latest project—Patrick’s wife, Tiffany, joins in on vocals—is a sonic counterpoint to Meese’s head-bobbing pop. Mellow, atmospheric, and hauntingly beautiful, the band’s EP, Second Spring, weaves Patrick and Tiffany’s choral melodies with keyboards and reverb-laden guitar to create a dreamy soundscape. “I had felt stagnant for a while,” Patrick said over drinks at the Hornet on South Broadway one recent evening. “I had a vision with these songs. I wanted to do something different, something full of space. Sweet. Gentle. It had been a crazy few years for us, but this has been like a rebirth.”—Geoff Van Dyke